N.Y. Times story on women living alone draws skepticism from marriage supporters
NEW YORK (BP)--A New York Times study of census data from 2005 claims that 51 percent of American women now live alone without a spouse, and most of them by choice. The report, which appeared in the paper Jan. 16, claims the number of single women has increased from 49 percent just five years ago and from only 35 percent in 1950.
Several factors, including women waiting longer to marry, staying single, getting divorced and living alone longer after their spouses pass away, led to the increase, the paper reported. “Coupled with the fact that married couples became a minority of all American households for the first time, the trend could ultimately shape a range of social and workplace policies, including the ways the government and employers distribute benefits,” The Times article concludes.
But the claims made by the paper about the census and why fewer women are married may not be entirely...